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    <title>WorldsChat (1995) | Kris Yotam</title>
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    <meta name="description" content="notes on WorldsChat, one of the earliest 3D avatar chatrooms on the internet — exploring its design and historical significance">
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    <h1>WorldsChat (1995)</h1>
    <div class="keepws">
(<span class="bold">notes</span>
  (date 2025-06-10)
  (category <a href="../../notes.html">technology</a>)
  (status <span class="status-growing">growing</span>)
  (confidence certain)
  (importance 6)
  (tags personal digital historical))
    </div>
    <p class="preview">notes on WorldsChat, one of the earliest 3D avatar chatrooms on the internet — exploring its design and historical significance</p>
    <div class="prose">
<p>This entry comes from the <em>Preserving Worlds</em> project, a documentary series chronicling virtual worlds that have survived long past their commercial viability. The featured world here is <strong>WorldsChat</strong>, a pioneering 3D social space launched in 1994 — and remarkably, still online today.
WorldsChat allowed users to create avatars, build spaces, and chat in a 3D environment. What began as a utopian digital hangout gradually evolved into a strange, vibrant labyrinth of outsider art. It’s one of the earliest examples of user-driven worldbuilding in persistent online environments.
A notable part of this archival snapshot is the 2015 interview with <strong>GradualDIME</strong>, an independent archivist documenting user-generated content in WorldsChat. He guided the team through notable locations and recounted the brief intersection between WorldsChat and 4chan’s /x/ board.
This interview predates the official <em>Preserving Worlds</em> pilot and was initially meant for another documentary, <em><a href="https://sarasotamovie.com/">Sarasota Half in Dream</a></em>, before becoming a standalone short.</p>
<h3>Resources</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://users.worldsonline.com/users/jimbly/">JimblysWorlds</a> — Instructions on accessing WorldsChat on modern OSes, plus help docs and downloads.</li>
<li><a href="https://worldschat.fandom.com/wiki/Worlds_Chat">WorldsChat Wiki</a> — Covers history, culture, events, and user-created worlds.</li>
<li><a href="https://worlio.com/library/">Worlio</a> — Hosts media files and oral histories related to WorldsChat, including:</li>
<li><a href="https://files.worlio.com/files/WorldsPlayer/misc/Worlds%20Research%20Papers%20by%20GradualDIME.pdf">WorldsChat Research Paper by GradualDIME (PDF, 2012)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/worldsonline/">WorldsChat SubReddit</a> — Community discussions and updates.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Music from This Episode</h3>
<ul>
<li><em>"Self Help"</em> by <a href="https://lilytapesanddiscs.bandcamp.com/">Lung Cycles</a></li>
<li><em>hub3a.mid</em> from the <a href="https://files.worlio.com/files/WorldsChat/media/soundtrack/ChatGold/">WorldsChat installation folder</a></li>
<li><em>"f u t u r e b l u e s"</em> by GradualDIME (aka <a href="https://soundcloud.com/cosmic-retro">Cosmic Retro</a>), available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba-NHcfu-IE">YouTube</a></li>
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